Step 4:

Step 5:

here it is, obviously i need to make some adjustments, i figured the tarp would be a little short each way but it was pretty exact.. so it was saggi...

if you have a 12ft wide 3 panel deck door that faces west like me, and your house needs other improvments more then a $500+? awning right now, heres a cheap way to block some sun, because the a/c unit has a real fight on its hands any sunny spring/summer/fall day.

Step 1: What you need...

my deck is crappy, and its 10x12ft, and it has a big glass door as wide as the whole deck. i already tinted the doors myself with a mirrored tint, which helped, but not enough, i was reminded this when my upstairs started to climb near 77 degrees this recent warm spring day (48 degrees and sunny here) my thermostat is set at 69.

so i had an idea, i went to harbor freight and found a 10x12 mesh tarp for about $25. they sell these other places too just check by the normal tarps. it claims to block around %70 of the suns rays...

Step 2:

i used 1" EMT conduit, it was the longest sturdy cheap poles i could find at under $6 for each 10ft piece. and its already galvinized or somthing so it shouldnt rust anytime soon.

i drilled a hole near the end of all 4 of them at one end, and put an eye bolt in it for anchoring points.

parts i used
snap on straps for 1" emt conduit - buck or two a bag of 4
medium sized turnbuckles for tensioning the tarp tight - dollar somthin each
carabeaners - $1? each
4 eye bolts - dollar somthin each
some extra 5/16 nuts and washers for the eyebolts - $2
container of spax 1 1/4 screws - $5? i like these because they require no predrill and have nice deep threads for grabbing crappy wood like my deck is made of.

Thanks for the ideas! We recently moved into a house with a small deck out back. The sun isn't too terribly hot, but I'm considering putting up an awning canopy using a solid tarp that could provide shade and shelter from rain.

Like you I have looked for affordable ways to put some shade on my deck. Because of the wind, I haven't gone the route you chose (and because it is hard to keep the fly taut). But you've come up with some good ideas for the poles, that might help me out. Thanks for posting!

i dont THINK i will have problems with wind, my deck will probably fall apart if anything. unlike me if you get a tarp that is slightly smaller then your deck and not the exact size, should be easier to rig it tight